Whitmore died of lung cancer at his home in Malibu, said his son, Steve. He was diagnosed with the disease a week before Thanksgiving.

'He cared about acting; his whole life was dedicated to the theater and to movies,' said actor David Huddleston, a longtime friend who appeared in Whitmore's 1964 movie 'Black Like Me' and did a couple of plays with him. 'I asked James Cagney one time to tell me the best thing you can about acting. He said never to get caught at it. That's kind of how I'd sum up Jim Whitmore.'"